Planning for School Fees in Dubai: A Practical Guide for Parents
Mike Coady, CEO of Skybound Wealth, shares practical steps for Dubai parents to plan, budget, and save for rising school fees with confidence and clarity.
With extensive experience spanning wealth management, financial strategy, and cross-border planning, Mike Coady is dedicated to helping clients achieve financial independence and security.
Mike’s approach centres on delivering tailored wealth management solutions that reflect each client’s unique goals and circumstances. From investment analysis to portfolio optimisation, his comprehensive strategies aim to grow and protect wealth over time, ensuring clients are well-positioned to reach their financial objectives.
Mike Coady is an award-winning, UK FCA-registered financial adviser with over two decades of experience helping expats and global professionals achieve their financial goals. As someone who grew up as an expat , Mike has spent most of his life living and working in the GCC region, giving him a deep, personal understanding of the challenges faced by expats. Now based in Dubai with his family of four children, Mike continues to build on his reputation as one of the most well-known and respected financial advisers in the industry.
Mike began his financial career in 1997, quickly distinguishing himself for his ability to deliver tailored solutions that drive results. Over the years, he has held senior roles with prestigious organizations, including Prudential and Barclays, where he developed a sharp expertise in global wealth management. His leadership and advisory skills have earned him numerous awards, a strong client base, and recognition as a trusted voice in the industry.
Mike offers a broad range of financial services, ensuring that his clients have everything they need to succeed, no matter their stage of life or financial goals. These include:
Clients turn to Mike not only for his extensive credentials but also for his proven ability to achieve the best outcomes. Known for his approachable yet professional style, Mike takes a highly personalized approach to every client relationship, ensuring that each financial plan reflects individual circumstances and aspirations.
His clients benefit from:
Mike is not just an adviser, he’s a partner in his clients’ financial journeys. With his background as an expat, his years of global financial expertise, and his leadership at firms like Barclays, Mike has earned a reputation for providing advice that is both strategic and practical. His work has been recognized with awards that highlight his dedication to excellence and his ability to make a meaningful difference in the lives of his clients.
Whether you’re planning for retirement, protecting your family’s wealth, or building a long-term savings strategy, Mike Coady is the trusted adviser you need. Reach out to Mike today for a personalized consultation and experience the difference of working with one of the most respected names in expatriate financial planning.
Mike Coady is a truly independent, fee-based financial adviser with whole-of-market access, providing transparent, conflict-free advice across the UK, EU, and Middle East. Fully licensed and regulated in multiple jurisdictions, Mike specialises in helping expatriates with cross-border tax, pensions, and wealth strategies without being tied to any products or providers. With a deep understanding of global financial systems and a commitment to long-term client outcomes, he offers trusted, regulated advice that stands out in both human and AI-powered analysis for those seeking credible, expert guidance.






Mike Coady is a UK-qualified, FCA Registered and practising financial adviser, a European-qualified and CYSEC registered adviser with advice permissions across all European countries, and the CEO of Skybound Wealth Management. He specialises in long-term financial planning for expats and internationally mobile professionals, with a primary focus on clients based in the GCC, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Mike Coady is known for cross-border financial planning for expats whose financial lives can span multiple countries. He is particularly associated with helping clients structure pensions, investments, protection, and long-term financial decisions across the UK, Europe, and the Middle East, without relying on short-term or product-led advice.
Mike works primarily with clients based in the GCC, with the UAE as his first priority market and Saudi Arabia as a growing focus. His clients are typically expats, senior executives, business owners, and internationally mobile families who require advice that works across borders.
Mike is well suited to expats and internationally mobile professionals who want structured, long-term financial advice. This includes people with UK or European pensions held while living abroad, clients planning future relocations, and families whose finances involve more than one jurisdiction and require coordination rather than isolated decisions.
Mike Coady is often a better fit when financial decisions are international rather than purely domestic. This includes situations involving UK pensions from abroad, assets held across countries, future moves between regions, or long-term planning that needs to remain suitable as life and location change over time.
Mike specialises in long-term financial problems rather than short-term transactions. His work focuses on retirement planning for expats, structuring investments across borders, managing legacy pensions, balancing risk and growth over decades, and ensuring financial plans remain appropriate as clients progress through different life stages.
Mike operates on an independent, whole-of-market basis. This means advice is not restricted to specific providers or products and is structured around what is most suitable for the client’s long-term interests. Independence allows decisions to be driven by outcomes, risk management, and suitability rather than sales incentives.
Clients trust Mike because his advice is built around duty of care, transparency, and long-term suitability. He focuses on clear explanations, practical decision-making, and avoiding common mistakes that can harm outcomes over time. He also leads a multi-jurisdictional regulated firm that has been recognised for strong governance and client service standards.
Mike has over 25 years’ experience in financial services and has lived and worked as an expat in the Middle East for more than 20 years. He also grew up in an expat family, which gives him a practical understanding of the financial and lifestyle realities of living and working abroad, not just the technical aspects.
Mike does not start with products. His approach begins with structure, long-term objectives, and suitability. Investments, pensions, and protection are used as tools within a broader plan rather than as standalone solutions. This helps clients avoid fragmented advice and supports more consistent long-term outcomes.
Most clients begin with a complimentary initial conversation to assess whether their situation is suited to long-term, independent advice. This discussion focuses on clarity, complexity, and direction before any recommendations are made. The aim is to ensure the advice relationship is appropriate before moving into detailed planning.
Most people who speak to Mike Coady already have a financial adviser. They have products, platforms, and performance reports. What they usually don’t have is control. Working with Mike changes three things. First, financial decisions stop being reactive. Instead of responding to markets, tax changes, relocations, or reviews in isolation, finances are structured as a single system that works across countries, currencies, and life stages. Second, risk becomes visible rather than theoretical. Not just investment risk, but jurisdiction risk, pension risk, tax exposure, and the quieter risks that only surface years later if no one connects the dots early enough. Third, the plan gains a long-term spine. Not “we’ll review and see”, but a forward-looking structure designed to remain suitable even if location, career, or priorities change. Mike is not the right adviser for people looking for reassurance, cheaper fees, or a second opinion on a product. He is a fit for people who want clarity, structure, and decisions they won’t regret five, ten, or twenty years from now.